The Past Unforgotten
by CagedInWonderland
Summary: Childhood is a beautiful thing, even if you only have one friend at your side. Besides, military brats have to stick together. (Kentin and OC centric)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: *WARNING: LONG ASS AUTHOR'S NOTE AHEAD. DO READ IT, THOUGH. IT EXPLAINS SOME SHIT.***

**Like, hi. So if anyone of you happened to stumble on the pile of shit that was my first, and currently deleted fanfiction** **, you may **_**kinda **_**know who I am. But if you were of the lucky ones that **_**didn't**_**read it, you go, Glen CoCo, because it was a pile of, well, **_**shit, **_**as stated above. The reason I had deleted it in the first place was becuase I had kind of fallen out of love with MCL and had went on to work on other stuff fanfiction related, because **_**To Catch a Butterfly (ew why the fuck did I name it that tho)**_ **hadn't really been read/reviewed all that much, and I hadn't read over it since freakin' March, I just like, deleted it. Then, five minutes afterward, I was like, "Hey. Haven't played MCL in a while. Might as well do that." Then I logged on, realized I had saved up **_**a fucking thousand action points**_**, and completed episodes 11-17. And ** **then, after crying and making a fucking Deborah voodoo doll, I re-read TCB. And hated it. Hated my writing style, hated Aura's partial Mary Sue-ness, and above all, **_**hated **_**the way I had established her life leading up to thus far. And especially, I hated the way I had worded her and Ken(tin)'s relationship. This might have been due to Kentin being the one my Candy ran and balled her eyes out to over Giovanna Plowman's used tampon. Nonetheless, it really had me going, and it made me remember that at one point, I really liked writing TCB, and I really like the character's MCL has to offer. And even if I didn't in the beginning (I stopped writing **_**To Catch a Butterfly**_** around episode 2, and was Castiel crazy, and kind of hated Ken for his love for Candy), I really like Kentin, and totally dig the whole military brat thing, and was like, "Hey, you stupid fuck. Let's make this shit better."**

_**Sooooo**_**, I sat in front of my computer for three hours thinking of a more detailed and, excuse me, **_**more better **_**way to depict Aura, her personality, her past, and her relationship with Ken. Because, if you read my failed attempt at a fanfiction prior to this, she basically just like, "Hey. This kid was there for me when my mom got **_**fucking cancer, **_**but he's SOOOO ANNOYING!"****So I spent this last month or so repairing her character and creating a bit of a different story for her, and giving more attention to her childhood and how her and Ken remained so close. So hopefully, this can keep my attention for more than a month, and I'll actually appreciate my own writing.****So yeah. If you're interested, read on and whatever. It'll be fluffy and cute and kinda romance-y, so if you have a Kentin fetish (*caugh caugh* like me) then you might just like this. Fair winds, internet dwellers! **

The Past Unforgotten

Butterflies and Broken Crayons

He, despite the hardships he faced during his adolescence, looked back on his childhood with nothing but fondness in his eyes. Admittedly, he winced at the memories that were plagued with scrapped knees, bruised chins and tears. But he smiled when he thought of her, the girl who had unknowingly kept his chin up for the majority of his life.

He would never forget the day he had first saw her; her long, ash blonde braid swaying behind her as she pressed through the crowd, her mother's hand tight in her own. As soon as his hidden, forest green eyes passed over her, he stopped, and she did too. Her big, cloudy blue eyes narrowed, and she pulled her mother along the crowded hallway. He gulped. It was only his first day of grade school, and he already felt the unfamiliar, warm stirring in the pit of his gut, accompanied by the intensely hot flush of his rounded cheeks.

When his father had finally been able to guide him to Mrs. Elliot's large classroom, he felt his palms drench themselves in sweat. The desks where in sets of two, all of which were filled with the appointed children. Taking a quick, nervous once over, he saw the last empty desk in the very back of the brightly decorated classroom, and gulped hard as he tried to swallow the tight knot of anxiety that had formed in his throat.

The beautiful, doe-eyed girl from before was at the desk to the right, her floral-printed backpack dangling from the back of her chair.

She held her head high, any signs of fear void of her disposition. Her eyes gleamed with the undeniable desire for knowledge, her small, freckled hands clasped gently together on her desk. He remembered his teacher warmly taking his hand from his father's and guiding him to the small, beige desk as she asked the girl to introduce herself. Despite the scowl she had given him only fifteen minutes before, she turned to him with a soft smile, a single dimple appearing on her right, spotted cheek.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from her strong, pale blue ones as she smiled, her mauve sundress dress pooling around her tanned knees. His jaw fell slightly when she returned the shyness in her eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind her pierced ear, a shining purple flower adorning her earlobe. "I'm Aura." It was so simple, but it made his toes involuntarily curl, nonetheless. He felt his teacher's kind hands as they nudged him forward before gingerly taking a place on the light blue plastic chair. She looked at him, expectantly, her brows almost narrowing at his silence.

"I-I'm… I'm Kentin L-Liam Matthews… but, you don't _really_ have to call me the whole thing… Um. you can call me Ken! _Call me Ken_!" Kentin smiled as he saw her in his mind's eye, her long, brown lashes brushing her cheeks as she blinked owlishly at his response. He felt a band of hot, nervous perspiration form on his brow as she merely looked at him, her eyes reflecting the harsh light that illuminated the large, chatter-filled classroom.

And she smiled. A broad, sweet smile, accompanied by an airy giggle flowing her lips. He smiled, too, a rosy blush consuming his face and ears.

"Hey," She had said, taking a pristine box of crowns from her backpack before opening it. "My purple crayon broke. Can I have yours… " For a second, she placed her pointer finger on her chin in thought. "..._please_?" For some reason, he had the feeling that even if he had said no, it would have ended up in her possession, anyway. With a meek tug of the lips, he placed his purple crayon in the palm of her hand. Her warm, oceanic eyes gleamed as she placed it in the thin, cardboard box, the wide grin never leaving her freckled features.

"Thank you, _Kentin Liam Matthews_. Hey, your name is in alphabetical order; so is mine! My full name is Aura Marilyn Zander," She said, putting the stubborn strand of hair back behind her ear. With a small, joyous laugh, she added, "_But_, you don't have to say the _whole thing_, you know."

For the first time that day, he laughed too. And he'd never forget that day, not even a moment of it.

**So yeah. This story will be told as if Aura and Kentin are looking back on their life and friendship, and will have about one or two chapters dedicated to each year they know each other. I remembered in the older version, Aura had stated that they had only known one another since fourth grade, but I wasn't too keen on that when re-writing it. As the sory progresses, you'll learn a little more about Aura and her family, not to mention Kentin's. Have a lovely day (or night, depending on where you are), and remember to give me advice for my writing and to review! **_**Reviews make a baby angel panda get its wings, don't you know.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, hi there :D This is chapter two, and is longer than the previous one. I'm not gonna lie; I was laughing my ass off when I wrote this. Not that it's particularly funny; it's just the situation that makes me smile. Anyway, I hope you like it. Chapter three should be edited and uploaded by Tuesday. Woot woot! (PS. There's dog hair in my eye and I can't get it out.) **

The Past Unforgotten

•TWO•

Cowardice, Barbie Doll Bandaids, And Pretty Eyes

•

Aura _never _played with dolls. He knew this for a fact; she preferred books much better, and always had. She wasn't like the girls at recess and lunch who crowded around a make-shift doll house, vibrantly green grass creating a barrier around them as they voiced their wide-eyed, toothpick role models. But she read; not the little baby books, either, and that was the first common ground that he found with the young girl. They even owned some of the same books, and would read together in their half an hour of play and the forty five minutes they received for lunch. But not this lunch period, in particular. Kentin recalled that Aura had been kept after class after calling the teacher a "_bad word_", leaving him alone and vulnerable.

As he sat there, knees pulled to his chest as he tried to focus on the words splayed out before him, it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the rocks that where being pelted in his direction. He visibly cringed when one finally came into contact with his face; namely, his brand new pair of glasses that were purchased just yesterday.

He felt the hot, inescapable liquid form on his tear ducts as the taller, much bigger boys pointed at him and laughed. He was promised by his mother that it wouldn't be like kindergarten, that kids wouldn't be this horrible; he guessed, in a way, she had broken that promise. He nearly yelped as a much larger rock, large than the ones they had thrown before, smacked the bridge of his nose. He hands immediately lost their tight hold on either side of his book, its pages rustled by the wind as it fell unattended to at his side, his hands darting to cup the newly inflicted wound with his hands.

"Aren't you going to say something, faggot?" Looking back on it now, he knew that it was a _horribly_ lackluster insult, but at the time, for some unknown reason, it had hurt. No, he had no idea what it even meant and he doubted that they did, either, but he knew somehow, it was meant to offend him in ways that pelting him with rocks couldn't. And it did; he lost the ongoing battle of fighting off the tears, the hot liquid running down his face and into his mouth. Feverishly, he tried to wipe the evidence away with the sleeve if his sweater, but it only aided in making the situation that much worse.

His heart sank to the pit of his stomach as he watched the tallest boy out of all of them pick up a rock nearly the size of his fist, his lips curled in a demeaning, Cheshire-like smirk.

"Only _cowards _pick on those that are smaller than them. But since you were probably raised in a zoo filled with inbreeds, it wouldn't be a surprise if you didn't know the simplest forms of humanity." Her voice was calm, collected, and light as a feather. The boy's face heated up in embarrassment as he whirled around, the rock still grasped firmly in his hand and held high in the air. If Ken would have been able to get a look at his face, he knew it would have been one of bewilderment and shame that girl a year younger than him had managed to completely disarm his wits.

However, this astonishment didn't last, and he quickly regained what little composure he had. "Aw, has Kenny's little body guard come to save him… _again_?" The two boys around him chided with laughter, the rest of the world completely oblivious to the situation at hand. Bile rose in the back of his throat; Aura may have been strong and brave, but that boy was easily five inches taller than her, and had a rock readily available as a make-shift weapon. Still, she looked unfazed, _unimpressed_, even, as she cocked a light brown brow in the direction of the three boys.

The wind caught the hem of her cream-colored sundress, reviling her black, knee high combat boots, providing a stark contrast against her tanned skin. She tilted her pointed chin to the side, her hands clasped behind her back as she began walking around the boy, much to his confusion. He spun around just as she was finished with her quick once over, and took no time to point an accusing finger directly in her face.

"What do you think you're doing, you little freak?" She was unwavering as she kept constant eye contact with his offender. Ken wanted more than anything to bolt and run to her side, but he was stuck to the ground around him like a fly caught in a spider's web. Wordlessly, she took careful steps toward the looming giant until their chests were nearly touching, her head positioned directly above his shoulder.

"I can _completely_ dress a deer. Do you know what that means?" From where he sat, Ken saw a bead of sweat drip from his crooked left brow and fall on his cheek. Without giving him time to respond, she continued. "It means I can skin, gut, de-bone, and section a deer into pieces. You weigh as much as the average doe, I'm guessing." Kentin smiled to himself as he recalled the boy's expression; the mocking smirk had completely left his face, and was replaced with a horrified, grim line. The rock he had been preparing to throw at Ken had fallen from his hand, the appendage limp at his side. He didn't have to see her face to know Aura's eyes with alive with victory.

"Now, I'm _hoping _you're not too dumb to not understand what I'm getting at. Before you go running off to a teacher, remember something; I _am _a girl, after all. All I would have to do is cry, fall down, and say you punched me, and you would be suspended." His friends from before looked as though they were preparing to completely abandon him without guilt. But, she didn't give them the chance to escape before adding, "If I see _any _of you messing with Ken again, you'll regret it. I _promise_." With the drop of a hat, the young girl bounced back on the heels of her shoes, flamboyantly swaying her hips from side to side. "Do I make myself clear?" Ken didn't know if she had noticed the puddle of urine that had begun to pool around the boy's ankles, but he look liked she had _absolutely_ made herself clear. Without another word, all three of them darted away from the scene of the crime, their running so fast and desperate it left a cloud of dirt in its wake.

To say the least, Ken never had to worry about them again.

Without letting another second pass, Aura twirled around on her feet and rushed toward him, crouching on her knees once she was directly in front of him, her long dress creating a veil around her legs.

Tentatively, she reached a small hand out to touch the open, bleeding cut on the bridge of his nose. He fidgeted away from her touch, but that didn't seem to deter the freckled blonde. She reached her hand over and swiftly grabbed the water bottle from Ken's lunch box before pouring a small amount of it on the corner of her pristine sundress.

"Hey, what're you-"

"Sit still, would you?" It was clearly a demand, and he really didn't have the balls not to fallow it. Gently, she placed the dampened cotton fabric against his nose, the pressure causing some of the bleeding to cease, but only made the pain worse. He winced as she cleaned the rest of the less sever scrapes that his face had endured before pulling a Band aid from the pocket of her dress. He watched in horror as the wrapper was pealed back, reviling a bright pink, Barbie decorated strip of adhesive coated bandage.

It even surprised himself when his hand shot upwards, grabbing her wrist before she could place the humiliatingly girly band aid on the wound.

"_W-wait_! Why do you even_ have _those?" He questioned, as a tomato-red blush seeped over his already tear-flushed face. She responded with her usual smile, the single, deep dimple appearing on her rosy cheek.

"My mom says it's better to always be prepared for the unexpected. _Now,_ shut up and let me put this on your face." He, bravely, I might add, still didn't relinquish his weak grip on her slender wrist. He knew by the creasing of her brows that she was becoming annoyed, but she didn't even fully answer his question.

"_Well…_That makes sense, but why do they have Barbie on them? You _hate _dolls." She gave him the most fed-up look he thought he had ever seen before in his life before stamping the damned thing to his cut without warning, her touch less than gentle.

"The way I look at it, blood, puss, and infection are leaking onto her face." He would have questioned if she was _fucking serious_, but with a mental sigh he already knew the answer. He recoiled back into himself, wrapping his slender, sweater clad arms around his knees before pulling them tightly to his chest. The blood that had rushed to his cheeks was so obvious it was almost painful.

To make it that much worse, she reached her hands forward and pulled his thickly-brimmed glasses from his face, reviling his reddened, dark green eyes. She locked her much paler ones with his and refused to let the stare falter, the embarrassingly large glasses held between her pointer finger and thumb.

"You have pretty eyes, Ken." She said, taking care not to bump the wound as she placed his glasses back into his nose. It was almost afflictive to Kentin as he looked back on Aura when they were children; he doesn't think she_ ever_ knew, or _will _know, how much that simple statement had meant to him.

Without exactly knowing what to say, he gingerly dipped his hand into his opened lunch box, retrieving an unopened packet of chocolate chip cookies. He opened it with borderline shaking hands and silently offered her one, hoping it would distract her from the redness that was contaminating his entire body.

She stared at the wrapper for a few seconds before smiling, a small giggle erupting from her like sulfur dioxide from a hot spot volcano. She took one and took a bite from it, the soft smile never leaving her lips. "I'll take that as a thank-you."

He silently ate his cookie, his head tucked between his shoulders so she couldn't see the smile spreading over his lips.

**A/N: I **_**love **_**when kids are slightly sadistic. It's extremely hilarious, in my opinion, and they always have a fucked up explanation for things. I remember that one instance where my little cousin kicked my uncle in the face, simply because "…**_**he wasn't awake to stop me."**_** Mind you, he was only five at the time. I dunno, I guess me and my family are just weird like that. Anyway, it's Sunday where I'm at, and I have to be logged onto school (homeschooled woot woot) at eight in the morning, and it's almost nine thirty now. That may seem a **_**bit **_**early, but If I don't get like, **_**ten hours **_**of sleep, I'm so cranky it's not even funny. So, I hoped you had a lovely day, and an even better night… Or, vice versa, where ever the hell you happen to be right now. **_**You might even be in Narnia.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Before I go on to the actual author's note, I would just like to give a shout to one of my reviewers, MyMoonMaiden. I read **_**Carry Me Away,**_** and decided to name Aura's mother after Dahlia; I hope you don't mind! **

**Besides that, has been my favorite chapter to write so far, hands down. The more and more I write this, the more and more I'm falling in love with the characters again. Plus, it's really fun to write about Aura; her and I are **_**complete**_** opposites, and writing about a child so fierce and brave is really, really fun! And Ken is just so damn cute, it's hard not to smile. Anyway, I hope you like this one!**

The Past Unforgotten

•THREE•

Say It with Your Chest

•

He knew by the way his father was silently, steadily driving that he was excited. The man_ rarely_ was, but had been more than willing to drive the half an hour out of their small town to reach Aura's farmhouse. His mother, Sarah, had been chattering in her lively tone of voice for the entire car ride, her hands tightly holding onto the cobbler-filled dish on her lap. Ken sat in the back, his eyes anxiously scanning over the countryside as all traces of civilization were lost. She _had_ said that their house was surrounded by a forest, and the idea of a bear popping out and eating them while they were trying to have dinner seemed all to realistic to the young boy at the time.

In his own hands, he held a present, too; a tall, vibrant orchid- he knew that those were her and her mother's favorite, so he had insisted on bringing one as a gift. Besides, he had heard her mother, Dahlia, had flowers planted in the front and backyard of the house, so he knew that the plant wouldn't have that hard of a time finding a home.

Within the blink of an eye, he saw the looming white farmhouse come into view. His stomach contracted nervously as he saw a woman sitting cross-legged in rocking chair on the porch- he knew that must have been her mother, despite the curly brown hair that was gently getting picked up by the subtle winds. His father pulled into the dirt driveway that led to the house, and he saw her mother instantly look up at the intruding vehicle. As they got closer to the porch, he saw that she was smiling- an _identical_ smile to her daughter's, and she even had the one matching dimple on her right cheek. The woman gently place her book down beside her before walking down the steps of the porch, just as his father halted the car and opened the driver's door.

Ken was a little more than surprised when he first met Dahlia; her and Aura looked exactly alike, despite the reddish brown, curly mane that her mother kept loose and free flowing. Even more shocking, especially in such a small town like this, was the fact she had beautifully ornate tattoos decorating both of her long, slender arms. His father, Charles, had several tattoos of his own, so it wasn't anything that _bothered_ the newly turned seven year old. _No_, it wasn't that at all- her mother was such a delicate, bird-boned lady; that wasn't something that usually went along with tattoos, he had thought.

"Hello, ma'am; It's nice to finally meet you." Said his father, shaking her hand rather roughly as he introduced himself. She merely smiled and nodded before just as roughly returning the gesture, much to his father's visible surprise.

"It's lovely to finally meet all three of you." She said, in an airy, English accented voice. He remembered something Aura had said to him on the last day of school yesterday, before she had boarded her bus home; she had mentioned her mother was from England, and her parents had met while her father was stationed in London. Dahlia kindly talked with his mother as he stood there in his father's shadow, the bulky man completely masking his son as he stood behind him.

"You must be Ken." He hadn't noticed the woman bypass his father until she had crouched down before him so she was at eye-level, her blue, almond shaped eyes glistening in the sunlight. Her smile was so sincere and unwavering, just like Aura's. She reached her slender fingers out and wrapped them around the potted plant before setting it down at her side, her smile growing even wider as she smelled the pink flower. She held out her right hand for him to shake, causing a light pink blush to spread over his cheeks. He complied, enjoying the sound of her laughter as he shook her hand as vigorously as he could.

"Hey- why don't you go find Aura for me? She's in the backyard, I believe." He nodded swiftly before trotting towards the white, picketed gate that separated the front of the house from the back. Peeking over the freshly painted structure, he realized she hadn't been lying when she said there were flowers everywhere- hell, it wouldn't have been that much of an exaggeration if she were to say it looked like the Secret Garden, it was so lush with plant life. He unlatched the fence with clumsy hands and stepped past the threshold, the crisp summer air refreshing against his bare arms.

Kentin smiled. He remembered where she was clearly- she sat in the innermost center of the yard, her lavender sundress spanned out nearly a foot and a half around her. From where he stood, he couldn't tell what exactly the girl was doing until she tilted her head over her shoulder, looking at Kentin under the shadow of her floppy sunhat. In her hands was a small, baby rabbit, that hopped out of her grasp at the sound of Ken's feet brushing over the tall grass.

"Hey, Ken." Aura said, scowling at the small rabbit as it hopped into the forest in front of her. "It wasn't like I was going to _eat you_, y'know!" She called after the small creature, pouting as she remained seated on the ground.

"I… I brought a present for you and your mom." Her head snapped up in surprise, a smile spreading over her cheeks before she stood.

"…Is it a flower?" He gulped, his stomach turning into knots as his palms became even sweatier than they already were. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted. "I _hope_ it is, because there's this spot near the porch that doesn't have anything planted in it. It's a _disgrace_." He felt himself smile, despite the nervous perspiration that was forming on his brow bone. It wasn't even all that hot out; it almost felt like spring, the air was so cool and calming. Like usual, she didn't seem to take notice to his excitable behavior, and took a few steps closer to him until they were mere inches apart.

Kentin would never readily admit this to her, but this was one of the _frequent_ occasions where she almost made him faint.

"Hey, you wanna play a game? I usually play with my mom, but since you're here, we can play Military together." She said, her eyes alight with joyous excitement. "Last week, The Unicorns of Ponyvile waged war on us," In a split second, her features grew grim, the smile leaving her childish exterior. "…We fought without mercy," She leaned into the boy to where their noses were nearly touching, his face heating up to an imaginably high temperature. "There were _no_ survivors." Sometimes, Aura nearly made him pee _his_ pants.

"Um… s-sure! How do you play?" He asked, fallowing her to a small clearing near the edge of the fence. She whirled around on her bare feet, the lengthy sundress flowing in rhythm with her movements. In the small place that was scattered with toys, he saw a blackened, decapitated corpse of what used to be a pony doll. He was beginning to wonder where she got her insanity from, but _really_ didn't want to ask.

"_Well_, I'm General, you're my army, and we come in and annihilate everything. Absolutely no one left alive." She said, gently tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, her features the picture of innocence.

"Well… my dad _used_ to be a General. Can I play General?" Her small lips parted a fraction as her brows nearly receded into her hairline. Putting a fist on either one of her hips, she gave him the face. The "_Are-You-Fucking-Shitting-Me"_ face.

"Ken, you can't be General! You aren't assertive enough." He remembered dropping his head in defeat, a frown engraving itself onto his mouth. Ok, yeah, it was_ kinda_ true, but the truth does hurt, y'know. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his eyes to meet hers, and was surprised to see her look… _guilty_. Aura could run over someone's baby with her tricycle _on purpose_ and _still_ not be guilty.

"Ken-"

"How do I be assertive, then?" With his hands in tight knots at his side, he kept steady eye contact with the slightly taller blonde. Even now, as he pondered over his childhood, Kentin _still_ had _no idea_ where that spurt of bravery came from. Admittedly, he was probably five seconds away from going numbers one _and_ two in his cargo shorts, but, I digress.

The lone, deeply set dimple appeared on her cheek as she smiled. With her hands behind her back, her posture at a perfect angle, she walked towards him with unyieldingly deliberate steps. His feet nearly buckled out from under him when she got directly into his personal space, the grin replaced by a firm line. However, the amusement _never_ left her eyes.

"_Attention!"_ She said, in a voice so clear, loud and precise it didn't sound like it should belong to her. Without question, Ken got into his designated position, his back held so gaunt and stiff it was almost painful. Without letting another second pass, she turned on her heels and began examining his posture, the way his hands were positioned, and making sure his heels were pressed together firmly, the tips of his feet exactly thirty degrees apart.

Once she had walked back around to face him, the smile still hadn't returned. Ken felt a bead of sweat drip down his chin and onto his shirt, his clenched fists so damp with anxiety he thought he was close to passing out. "Now,_ say it with your chest_!" She barked, both of her shoulders pointed firmly, demanding respect.

His stance faltered, his feet taking one, involuntary step back. "W-what do you _mean_?" For a second, the rough disposition faded, a contemplative finger resting on her chin.

"Well," She said, "You have to stick your chest out like this," Once again, she held her hands behind her back, her posture a rigid, perfect line. "And… be _assertive_. Like what I just did. Y'know, let them know you're in charge with a single sentence. Making people pee their pants at the mention of your name. Make your enemies so scared, they dig their graves themselves, just so they don't have to suffer a death at your hands." Ken was_ positive_ that that _totally_ was _not_ what assertive meant, but he got the picture. Gulping the knot of fear that had solidified in his throat, he stood up straight again.

"So… I can _yell _at you without you getting mad at me?" He asked, his voice timid and small. She smiled that reassuring smile of hers, her eyes bright and secure.

"It's not yelling when you're a General."

With a deep, shaky breath, Ken did as he was told; pointing his chest outwards, he held his shoulders high and prideful, despite the desperate need to slump and shy away clenching at his heart. Letting out a long, drawn out breath, he locked eyes with Aura, her blue orbs excited and expectant.

"Hey, kids- dinners ready!" The two of them jumped slightly at the sound of Dahlia's voice, the woman standing at the entrance to the back door. Ken's shoulders slouched in defeat, his steps soundless as he began walking to the door. He practically jumped out of his skin when he felt Aura's small, warm hand enclose over his elbow, her skin smooth to the touch.

"It's _ok,_ Ken. You can be the General from now on. How about… General Cookie Monster?" His face immediately brightened at the sound of her chipper, sweet voice. She looked at him with kind, soft eyes, her words nothing but sincere. Like he did at every kindness she granted him, his cheeks became alive with warmth.

"_I like it_." Even of the nickname was anything but manly; it still filled his gut with butterflies. "You can be…Lieutenant General Butterfly…_of Death_."

She grinned without another word, taking his hand in her own as she lead him to the kitchen. As their parents talked and laughed, he was more than flattered to see his orchid proudly displayed in the center of the dining room table.

**A/N: lol. I think this one was super cute, and I can't wait to get the next one edited so I can post it. Next chapter, we get to meet Agatha (you know, the fairy lady that gives you random shit throughout the game), and she takes Ken and Aura to the park in Sweet Amoris to play! I'm not going to give **_**too **_**much away, **_**but, **_**it **_**does**_** involve some of the plot from an episode; you just have to guess which one! I hope you have a lovely week, and I shall see you all later!...**_** Or,**_** I won't exactly **_**see you, **_**but you get what I'm sayin, I'm sure.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**_** Sooooo**_**… how you doing?**

**What was that? Oh, I'm a bad author and took **_**too damn long**_** to update? And I suck? Hey, dammit, you **_**cannot **_**throw virtual tomatoes at me! NOT COOL, BRO! NOT COOL!**

…_**Fuckery aside**_**, I know this is over a month late. For that, I apologize. Some real life stuff happened, but the next few updates will probably come faster. However, if they don't, I'll tell you what's happening now in case it takes a little while for updates to be posted:**

**My mom has a brain aneurysm, and is having surgery for it within the next couple of weeks. I'm not saying this for sympathy, I just want you guys to know that it just might take more time for me to update. However, within those weeks, I want to get to at least chapter 11 before I go on any sort of hiatus. With that said I don't have much planned for the next chapter, so I have a favor to ask of my lovely reviewers; in your review, give me an idea for the next chapter? Whichever one I like best I'll make the next chapter, and give that person a shout out in the next AN. I know it's not much of a compensation for my absence, but I do promise more update to come.**

_**Soooooo,**_** without further ado, fair winds, and enjoy the chapter!**

The Past Unforgotten

•FOUR•

Rumble in the Monkey Bar Jungle

•

Aura, despite her upbringings, always had had a _thing _for the urbanized lifestyle. It fascinated her; like when her, her parents and aunt would take their yearly trip to San Francisco to march in Pride. Everything was so beautiful, colorful, and lively, unlike her rural hometown. She especially liked when her aunt, Agatha, would take her to Sweet Amoris where the fairy-like woman resided- their park was _especially_ lovely, and was a wonderful mixture of the wilderness she was accustomed to and city life. It was one of the rare things that got the young girl bouncing where she stood, and she looked forward to it every fall and spring.

This day, a Saturday, was going to be particularly _wonderful_- or at least, she hoped. She knew Ken was nervous by the way he was pressing the tips of his pointer fingers together impatiently, a deep frown engraved on his rounded face. Normally, he _loved _to meet new people, even if they didn't exactly reciprocate that excitement.

Before the blonde could question the younger boy, her aunt's pink minivan came to an abrupt halt. Aura and Ken were both thrusted forward without warning, the small boy yelping in surprise when his forehead was introduced to the back of the neon pink, pleather driver side's seat. Aura quickly unfastened the belt around her torso and pulled herself slightly over the passenger's seat, just in time to witness an enraged mother and her daughter, no older than four, paralyzed in front of the car. After some _polite_ words were exchanged, the woman drug her terrified child into the park entrance, Agatha sticking her tongue out at her as she retreated.

To this day, Auta had _no fucking clue_ where this woman got her driver's license.

"Alrighty, kiddies- can I trust you to behave while I'm in the boutique? I'll only be gone for maybe twenty minutes, _thirty,_ tops." Aura nodded her head, considering the alternative was standing there awkwardly while Agatha held bras up to her chest; she seriously doubted she was mentally prepared for the unbridled horror, not to mention Ken.

"_Yeah, yeah._ We'll be OK." She huffed as she slid out of her seat, stretching her arms above her head when her small feet touched the ground. Ken, albeit hesitantly, fallowed suit. She walked around the side of the car to greet him, bumping him with her hip once she was at his side. He was looking on at the park in trepidation, his hands tied in a sweaty knot behind him.

"Um… are you sure it's a good idea to just… _l-leave_ us here?" He said, looking up at the much taller woman. Aura couldn't help but grimace slightly at the nearly thirty-year-old's appearance; pink victory rolls, an even brighter pink circle skirt, mint green stilettos topped with a matching cardigan. If there was one thing Agatha Zander couldn't quite seem to grasp, it would have to be the concept of coordinating wardrobe colors with the seasons. That, and maybe that nearly running over pedestrians was_ not_ OK.

"_Well_… you do know that accepting candy from a creepy guy with gross hair riding a rusty van is a _no-no,_ right?" The boy gulped and nodded, taking an instinctive step closer to Aura. She untangled his hands and laced her fingers with his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Agatha giggled at Ken's unnerved expression before she crouched in front of him and ruffled his bowl-cut hair.

"Hey, I'm kidding- this place is perfectly safe, I promise you. Parents leave their kids here _all the time_, and nothing_ ever_ happens. You'll be fine, I swear." He gave her a small, meek smile and nodded. Aura released a very long, _very _dramatic sigh and threw her hands up in the air in aggravation, her boot clad foot lightly kicking dirt at no one in particular.

"Ehhhhhhh… can we be, like,_ done_ now? I wanna go throw mulch at people!" She said with a pouty huff as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her aunt quirked a smile, her ruby red lips reviling perfectly white teeth. She tugged on Aura's spotted cheek, her small hands trying desperately to swat Agatha's prying fingers away.

"Yes, you can go now," She giggled, and with a broad smile, circled the two children into her slender arms. Aura immediately began to squirm and writhe in her grasp, only to cause the woman to hug them even tighter.

"Stop, auntie! You smell like a Victoria Secret's exploded!"

She released them, and swatted Aura on the butt as she turned around, already rearing towards the park's entrance. "I'll take that as a compliment!" She called after her, Aura already having grabbed Ken by the hand as she tugged him towards the crowded park. "You two behave, or else we're not getting hot chocolate on our way back!" Ken seemed to take more heed to the threat than Aura did, considering she spun around and made a fart noise at Agatha as she walked across the street to her appointed destination.

The eight year old blonde giggled and spun in a small pile of leaves, the air around them still containing small traces of the summer weather. It was the perfect in-between; not quite cold enough that heavy clothing was a requirement, but cool enough that you weren't sweating buckets every time you stepped outside. And Aura absolutely _loved_ it; Ken, however, thought it to be necessary to wear a sweater, ankle-length cargo pants and a _freaking windbreaker_. He was her best friend, yes- but that didn't mean she couldn't think he looked like a total _guber _when it was appropriate.

"Ken, _come on!"_ She said, twirling on her heels until she was facing him again and took both of his hands in her slightly smaller ones. "Nothings gonna happen!" Still, the brunette gulped, his hidden green eyes wide and his palms sweaty. Aura squeezed his hands a little tighter before she pulled him through the remainder of the park, children and parents filling it to the brim.

"You_ love_ meeting new people, Cookie Monster! What's the problem?" She said, finally, as she tugged the boy into a sitting position under a looming oak tree. Ken twitched, and nervously pointed to a group of children that looked to be about maybe one grade level older than themselves, the taller boys laughing and throwing fistfuls of mulch at each other and passerby's. The tallest one out of the bunch was a boy in a light blue polo shirt, golden blonde hair and matching eyes. Aura squinted and held a flattened palm to her brow bone, and saw that the boy was tauntingly dangling a doll above a much smaller girl's head. Even though there were several adults surrounding the playground, the situation was being paid no mind.

Looking back on it now, Aura knew it would've probably been more beneficial if she had butted out of this one. Then again, her younger self thought she was fucking _Batman_, so the vigilante stuff was just kind of her thing.

The freckled blonde narrowed her eyes when she saw the older boy, who she concluded was the victim's older brother, yanked on her hair aggressively, still taunting her with her doll, who she was fruitlessly trying to grab from his hands. Ken turned his head just in time to see Aura huff and cross her arms, her blue eyes never leaving the scene. She nodded to herself before attempting to stand, but Ken grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.

"Aura- can't we just leave this one alone-"

_"I am vengeance!"_

"_No,_ you're _not_! He's a lot bigger than you, Aura! You could get-"

_"I AM THE NIGHT!"_ She locked eyes with Ken, her stare unwavering. As frightening as the girl could be when she was mad, Ken had grown rather accustomed to it, and managed to only flinch on the inside… and only wet himself a _little_.

"Aura… I just don't want to see you get hurt. _Please_, just this _one time_, can you just…_ not_?" Her expression softened a fraction and she sighed through her nostrils. She held his gaze a while longer before she spoke.

"Ken, you _know_ I can't stand seeing people get hurt. I'll behave, I promise."

To be frank, there was no way in hell that he was ever, _ever ever_ going to believe that Aura was capable of behaving. As the boy would later learn, that trait wouldn't be going _anywhere _anytime soon.

Before he could object, the blonde reached over and poked him roughly in between his eyes. He made a surprised sound as his hand darted to the offended patch of flesh, all the while _asking' why the hell she did that'_, saying_' how much it hurt'_, and _'how big of a fart she was' _before he opened his eyes and realized that she was nowhere to be seen.

_Goddammit._

Aura, as I mentioned before, thought she was Batman, and _no one_, not even her_ bestest friend_ could convince her otherwise.

She darted in between chatting parents as she locked her eyes on the older boy just as he yanked the doll's arms out of their plastic sockets. The much smaller girl's eyes welled up with tears as the boy dangled the limbs just out of her reach. Aura sneered. She may have _despised _dolls, but she hated seeing people cry even more.

"Hey! Why do you have to be so mean to her?" She shouted, crouching by the the girl's side and putting a freckled hand on her trembling shoulder. The blonde girl looked at her in surprise, but said nothing as more tears flooded down her cheeks.

Looking at the memory now, the blonde_ seriously_ wanted to hop in a time machine and _warp the fuck_ out of space just so she could slap her smaller self, kick Nathaniel in the nuts… _brutally_, and haul some serious ass out of the park, dragging Ken and herself into the safety of her Aunt's _retarded _neon minivan.

"What's it to you?" He said, his smirk faltering slightly. He still had the Barbie in his hand, it discarded arms and legs laying on the ground. Chagrinned, Aura realized that the boy was a lot bigger than her, and for some reason, even found _herself_ to be intimidated.

How he turned into the panty-waist he is today, both Aura and Castiel would never know.

"She's your sister! I'm sure your parents wouldn't like to know you're being such an _ass!"_ Speaking of parents, if her father would have heard her say that, she would've been put in time out and banned from the microwave for a month.

…_She liked to put her My Little Ponies in there._

"I can do _whatever _I _want_ to her, you little _bitch_!"

Whoever would've thunk it that Nathaniel would address _a lady_ in such a manner.

Aura yelped when the aforementioned boy grabbed onto a sectioned of her pin straight, dirty blonde hair and pulled it relentlessly, the force having yanked her so hard she lost her balance and fell forward, catching herself before he face hit the mulch.

_"Aura!"_ She instantly recognized it as Ken's voice as the boy rushed over and put a hand on her shoulder as she stood. She ignored the painful scrapes her hands had received from her small fall, her tiny fists balled at her sides._ Noone,_ and I mean _no one,_ had _ever_ had the balls to stand up to her like that. It was _infuriating_ and oddly _endearing,_ but the latter was outweighed by the sheer hate she now harbored for the lanky blonde child.

Hate that would carry on until she met the boy again, nearly a decade later.

"Don't you have something_ better_ to do, Nat?"

The anger drained from her features as she looked up at the intruder in alarm. It was someone she had never seen before, not even in the times she had visited Sweet Amoris. Instantly, a fire engulfed her speckled cheeks as she took in his appearance. Shaggy, inky black hair and the most stunning grey eyes she had ever seen, and a casual, almost _uncaring _stance to match. He looked to be maybe a year older than her, so he was maybe nine, and yet seemed completely calm and collected.

Aura would later note that Castiel seemed to embody the saying, "With age, come immaturity." Not to mention the the two rivaling boys seemed to switch personalities.

"What do_ you_ want, Castiel?" He barked, turning around as he let the doll's mangled corpse fall to the ground. Aura felt her heart flutter in her chest as he locked eyes with her for a split second before looking back to the blonde, slightly taller boy. She almost didn't notice Ken's hand tighten around her shoulder.

"Y'know, Nat; I could _easily_ go tell your dad. I know how _mad _he gets when you act up." It was unmistakably a threat, one that made Nathaniel's shoulders tense with fear. It made the now matured Aura remember the time she had hid in the boy's locker room seeking a glance at Lys's tattoo, just see a battered and bruised Nathaniel. At the time, the young girl found it to be a formidable threat, but now she realized it was an _incredibly_ low blow.

That was Castiel's thing, she supposed.

"…Whatever." He spat after a moment, visibly shaken as he looked back one final time at his sister. It made Aura remember just _why_ she had come over her in the first place; the girl at her side looked completely awestruck, her bright eyes wide and cheeks rosy, an expression that wasn't unlike her own.

However, her moment of love sickness ended when it finally_ hit_ her; she was unable to defend herself.

_She had been ousted._

_She had turned into the damsel in distress._

_This… this was __**completely**__ insulting._

For some reason, she found herself unable to voice her distaste as Castiel bent down and gathered the doll in his hands, seamlessly placing its limbs back into its sockets like he had down this a thousand times before. With a small smile, he knelt down in front of the girl Aura would later recognize as Amber, her small, shaky hands taking the doll from his grasp.

"Better?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but then turned her head to the side to shoot Aura and Ken a hateful glance, as if they were interrupting an extremely intimate moment.

Even as an adorable little girl, she was still a greedy little bitch.

_"Much."_ She said as she looked back to Castiel, nodding her head vigorously with a smile. He looked almost uncomfortable at the smile she was giving him, and was visibly relieved when a much older woman approached them, calling the girl's name as she walked.

_"Amber, dear, time to go!"_ She shouted, her hands cupped around her mouth as a makeshift megaphone. A pout formed on her lips as she opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when she looked and saw a man, presumably her father, standing by the woman with a firm hand on his wife's shoulder. Nathaniel stood next to him, his arms crossed with a foul expression on his face.

"I…_T-thank you_, Castiel!" She said in a hurried tone as she jolted upright, darting towards her parents with her doll hugged to her chest. Aura watched as she went, unimpressed with what little of the girl's personality she had witnessed.

"I _totally_ had that, y'know." She couldn't help but sneer, her sleeved arms firm over her chest. Ken still stood next to her, his hand now at his side instead of her shoulder, his mouth agape. The black haired boy didn't seem to take her words to heart as he took a step towards her, a small smirk on his lips.

"It _totally_ looked like it." Her lips twisted into a pout as she kicked mulch at him, turning her head to the side with a _'hrmmf'._ She tried to keep her heart from doing that weird _thing_ it did earlier as he laughed and ruffled her hair, laughing even harder as she slapped his hand away.

"Hey, don't make that face. You're too cute for that."

The only people to have ever called her cute were her parents and aunt; not even Ken, who complemented her whenever he had the chance. She felt her jaw drop as she looked at him with widened eyes, her cheeks pink as all anger left her expression. He smiled again and finally took notice to Ken, who was standing at a distance behind Aura. If she would have turned around, she would have seen him almost _glaring_ at the older boy.

"Well… I hope to see you around…uh, _what was your name again_?" He sheepishly scratched behind his head with a lopsided grin. It was hard for her to even form intelligent thought, let alone words.

"H-her name… _her name is Aura!"_ Ken suddenly barked from his place behind her. She was snapped out of her daze and whirled around to look at him, shocked to see his fists balled into angry knots as he locked eyes with Castiel. Even though he was trying his hardest to appear tough, he still shook slightly as he spoke.

_"O…k…?"_ He was able to choke out, raising a questioning brow. He glanced back at Aura before he offered her one last grin.

"Well, Aura. Hope to see you around." He spun on his heel and began jogging towards a group of boys that looked to be his age, a fierce game of tag in full force. She watched him as he left, her mouth_ still_ hanging open from both the shock of his presence and Ken's sudden bravery. She stumbled as Ken grabbed ahold of her hand abruptly, surprised at his roughness as he drug her towards the exit. Usually, it was the other way around completely.

_"K-Ken!"_ She was able to choke out as the neared the park gates. He didn't respond, but his grip on her hand loosened. She said nothing more and fallowed behind him, staring at his hand that was still firmly wrapped around her own.

_She had no idea what the fuck just happened, and even as a teenager, still had no idea._


End file.
